1. The Hero in Greek Culture
For it is honorable and glorious for a man to fight for his country and children and wedded wife against the enemy. And death will come whenever the Fates decree. But let him march forward holding his spear high and keeping his brae heart behind his shield, first to mingle in war For there is no way for a man to escape death which is ordained, not even if his race is descended from the gods. - Callinus, seventh-century Greek poet

2. Definition of Hero
The word “hero” is a Greek word with three meanings, linked to lineage, era, and behavior.
A hero is a mortal with one human and one divine parent. Achilles’ father is a man, Peleus, but his mother, Thetis, is a sea goddess. Achilles is a hero in the technical sense; other examples include Aeneas (whose mother is Aphrodite) and Heracles (“Hercules” in Latin – Zeus is his father).
Second, the label of hero may have to do with a particular time period. The Greeks refer to the time when heroes lived as the “heroic age.”
Third, someone may be heroic by his or her actions, consisting of great deeds, personal sacrifice, or a transcendent vision. This is a sense familiar to us today.

3. “If I remain here and fight around the Trojans’ city, my journal home is gone, but there will be undying glory. If I go back home to my dear fatherland, my noble glory is gone, but there’ll be a long life for me, and the stroke of death will not find me quickly.” (Iliad )

4. Heroic Code
The deeds performed by heroes are varied. Journeying to the “underworld” – and returning – is considered heroic; it symbolizes a triumph over death. (Once Heracles literally defeats Death in a wrestling match.) Many of Homer’s heroes demonstrate their heroism in battle. We may speak of “the heroic code,” a set of rules by which warriors become famous and demonstrate their heroism. In the Iliad, Hector, leader of the Trojans, articulates the heroic code: “I’ve learned to be brave always, and to fight in the front ranks of the Trojans, winning my father great glory and glory for myself.” (Iliad ).

5. Public Pressure and Guilt
The heroic code is enforced by public pressure, indeed, an essential part of warrior society is public esteem or, alternatively, public disgrace. Those who risk their lives are honored in society; those who are cowards and run away from battle are disgraced in the eyes of society. Hector speaks of this: “But I would be terribly ashamed before the men of Troy and the Trojan women trailing their long robes if I would skulk away from battle like a coward.” (Iliad ). This sort of society where public pressure plays such a dominant role often goes under the name of “shame culture.” While no people on earth operate wholly under a shame culture (or wholly under its contrast, a “guilt culture”), this concept offers insight into the motivation of heroes

6. Public Pressure and Guilt (cont’d)
The central idea that distinguishes shame culture from guilt culture is that in a guilt culture, if you do something wrong – even if nobody knows – you would feed bad or “guilty.” Your conscience would trouble you. In a shame culture, what matters is the public perception. Homeric Values 3 If you do well in battle – a public display of valor – you are honored and rewarded. If you are about to avoid danger, you feel public pressure to conform to society’s ideals.